2 syllables: bar, king. Stress on bar.
BAHR-king
/ˈbɑɹkɪŋ/
barking is pronounced BAHR-king (/ˈbɑɹkɪŋ/). It has two syllables (bar-king), with the stress on "bar". Barking is the act of forming a sharp, explosive vocalization produced by the vocal folds while the mouth remains relatively closed and the teeth may show. In general usage, it refers to the sound a dog makes, or metaphorically to loud, abrupt utterances. The word can function as a verb (present participle) or noun in extended senses related to the sound itself or actions resembling it.
Barking is the act of forming a sharp, explosive vocalization produced by the vocal folds while the mouth remains relatively closed and the teeth may show. In general usage, it refers to the sound a dog makes, or metaphorically to loud, abrupt utterances. The word can function as a verb (present participle) or noun in extended senses related to the sound itself or actions resembling it.
"The dog was barking loudly at the mailman from the fence."
"Her response was a barking laugh that surprised everyone."
"The neighbors were barking orders at the crew from the porch."
Pronounce as /ˈbɑː.kɪŋ/ in US/UK, stress on the first syllable. Start with the open back low vowel /ɑː/ as in 'father,' then a light /k/ onset for the second syllable, and end with /ɪŋ/ with a short, nasal -ing. The first syllable is stressed; keep the voice strong but the mouth fairly relaxed. Think 'BAR-king' with the second syllable shortened. Audio reference: try hearing /ˈbɑː.kɪŋ/ in native dog-related vocab on Pronounce or Forvo.
Two frequent errors: (1) Over-lengthening the second syllable—many say /ˈbɑːr.kɪŋ/ with a prolonged 'r' or a longer 'ing'. Keep the syllable count tight: /ˈbɑː.kɪŋ/. (2) Merging /k/ and /ɪ/ into /ɪn/ or blending to /ˈbær.kɪŋ/ with a fronted vowel. Correction: maintain the back vowel /ɑː/ in the first syllable and clearly release /k/ before the /ɪ/. Practice with minimal pairs like bark (no 'ing') vs barking to solidify the boundary.
In US and UK, the first syllable uses a back open vowel /ɑː/ with primary stress, but rhotic accents may display a slightly more centralized /ɒ/ before /k/, while non-rhotic UK accents may drop rhotics in rapid speech. Australian English maintains /ɑː/ but with a more centralized quality and a clipped ending. The /k/ is quite clear in all; the final /ɪŋ/ can be nasalized slightly more in casual speech. Overall, expect similar skeleton: /ˈbɑː.kɪŋ/, with subtle vowel shifts and rhotic differences depending on locale.
The difficulty lies in the abrupt /k/ release between syllables and the /ɪŋ/ cluster. The coarticulation demands a quick transition from a tenser /ɑː/ to a tense /k/ release followed by a lax /ɪ/ and nasal /ŋ/. Learners often insert a schwa or soften the /k/ release, blurring the boundary. Tactile cues—feel the sudden stop of air at the /k/ and a clean, crisp nasal finish—help. Practice with careful breath control and syllable isolation to stabilize it.
A key tip is to articulate the /k/ release crisply between syllables and avoid turning the second syllable into /ˈbɑːr.kɪŋ/ with a long 'r'. Keep /ˈbɑː/ as a single, tense vowel, then snap the /k/ before a crisp /ɪŋ/. This helps prevent a fusion that sounds like 'bar-king' in some dialects. Visualize a tiny stop before the /ɪ/ and push air quickly to the /ŋ/.
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Barking comes from the present participle of bark, from Old Norse barka ‘to bark’ and Old English beorcan/bearcan ‘to bark, to growl’ with Germanic roots. The word bark itself traces to Proto-Germanic *berkanan, linked to a sharp, abrupt sound. In Middle English, bark had already taken on the sense of a dog’s cry and from there expanded to figurative uses such as ‘barking orders’. The noun form ‘barking’ appeared as the gerund and participial adjective by the 16th–17th centuries, originally emphasizing the ongoing action or the sound itself rather than an object. Over time, barking acquired extended metaphorical senses (e.g., “barking up the wrong tree”) though the phrase originated from hunting contexts where barking dogs indicated pursuit. Today, barking remains a direct, onomatopoeic representation of a canine vocalization and a versatile descriptor for abrupt, loud speech. First known written uses appear in Early Modern English texts, with dog-vocalization references common in literature of that era; the modern sense as a perpetual action is well-supported in contemporary dictionaries and corpora.
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Words that rhyme with "barking"
-ing sounds
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